No financial aid unless accepted to nursing program?

[dolphin2027]

Hi everyone,

I'm just in the process of taking CNA and will be taking NLN soon. One person in my CNA informed me that the CC in IL we are attending won't be paying financial aid for classes for pre nursing students unless the student is accepted in the nursing program. This sounds crazy to me because unless you take pre req you won't qualify for applying to the program. Am I missing something here. She said that financial aid told her not even science class will be paid for unless she is accepted in the program. We have a long list of classes we had to have and a great NLN score to get in. This includes AP.

[maggie24]

Out here in Cali, financial aid is based on need, not on the classes you take. I am assuming that since the FAFSA is federal, it is the same in every state. You fill out a FAFSA, and based on your income, if you are dependent or independent of your parents, age, you are awarded loans and/or grants. It has nothing to do with the classes you are taking.

Also, we have a BOG fee waiver here- if you are 24 or older and/or have financial need, the tuition fee is waived.

Maybe she was talking about grants or scholarships specific to the nursing students?

[dolphin2027]

:banghead:

[dolphin2027]

She said the financial aid office told her that it is for all the medical related degrees b/c so many people are studying these with out being able to get into the programs. Sounds crazy to me. Her CNA class won't be paid by F. aid and she doesn't know what to do. The class is over this Friday. It sounds just unfair.:banghead:

[nohika]

I honestly don't know, either. I'm working on my pre-reqs and everything is covered by financial aid. Course, I'm paying for my CNA out of my own pocket, too...

Best of luck resolving it! =)

[maggie24]

Have you filled out a FAFSA? Have you spoken to a financial aid counselor? Sometimes financial aid staff are uninformed/misinformed about the financial aid available to students. You def. should check this out b/c it doesn't sound right that they can control which students get money or grants based only on the classes they are taking!

When you fill out the FAFSA, you don't even put your major . . .

[caliotter3]

What a ripoff. Students who attend, pay their tuition fees, but fail to get into nursing school are just as much a student as anyone else. That is discrimination of some sort, unless all students who are not accepted into a program of study are treated the same way. If that were the case, then there would be no discrimination. I thought discrimination in the use of federal financial aid monies was illegal. This should be brought to the attention of the federal authorities.